dugyan

Dugyan (photo credit to The Philippine Star)

dugyan - /dug-yan/ (Palaweño fruit) [n.] red durian (sc.name: Durio graveolens)

Unlike the usually cultivated durians of Mindanao, the fruit of dugyan is smaller in size, weighing less than a kilogram with sharper and longer spikes on its thick coat. It is yellow-green when unripe and turns bright yellow to yellow-orange when ripe. 

The Durio graveolens of Palawan (photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)

When fully ripe, it opens while on the tree, showing its distinct bright red lipstick flesh that would eventually fall to the ground. 

With its distinct lipstick-red flesh, the dugyan, an endemic fruit in Palawan, is said to be an entirely different species from the typically-cultivated durian that we see in the market. The smell and taste are not repulsive and nauseating. It is almost creamy, but not so sweet. 

In the Philippines, this rare variety of durian is found only in Palawan though similar other red durian varieties can also be found in Borneo, Malaysia, and Thailand 

Dr. Virgilio Loquias, the durian expert of the Philippine's Bureau of Plant Industries, holding a red durian of Palawan grown in BPI-Davao. Photo taken during Lindsay Gasik's search for durians in the country. (photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)

Related readings:

• Philippines Durio Graveolens
  Philippines Durio graveolens - Lindsay Gasik's blog (The Year of the Durian) about the red durian in Palawan with Dr. Virgilio Loquias of the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industries.
• Preserving indigenous fruits - an article from The Philippine Star business section that features dugyan.

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